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Today, we’re taking a look at three unique 2025 reissues from Japan!

Back on December 5, we shared news that John Powell and Stephen Schwartz’s instrumental score to the blockbuster sequel Wicked: For Good had received a physical release on 2 CDs or 2 LPs whereas their work on the 2024 first film was only issued digitally and on limited-edition vinyl.  Over in Japan, however, it’s a horse of a different color.  Universal Japan, Republic, and Verve have released a deluxe 2CD edition of Wicked including both an expanded edition of Schwartz’s song score and the instrumental score.  Housed in an extra-thick jewel case within a slipcase, the first disc adds the orchestral “Ozdust Duet” and radio edits of Ariana Grande’s “Popular” and Cynthia Erivo’s “Defying Gravity.”  The second CD has the 26-track presentation of the Powell/Schwartz instrumental cues.  The typically beautiful Japanese package also includes ten art cards, each featuring a different character, and an additional card at CD size which could make for an alternate cover.  For those Wicked fans looking to add a CD version of the score, it’s time to rejoicify!  (CDJapan)

Sony Music Japan has continued its popular series of 7-inch SACD reissues with a 50th anniversary edition of Bruce Springsteen’s seminal Born to Run.  The 3CD set features a new DSD remaster of the original album on stereo hybrid SACD (playable on all CD players) along with The Boss’ Greenvale, New York concert of December 12, 1975 on 2 Blu-spec CDs (also playable on all CD players).  The CW Post College Post Dome concert featured most of the songs from Born to Run including “Thunder Road,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Backstreets,” “She’s the One,” “Jungleland,” and, of course, the title track.  (The concert also yielded Springsteen’s now-classic take on “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town” which was released as a single nearly a decade later, in 1985.)  The concert was issued in 2021 on CD-R and digital formats (with some copies pressed on silver discs) from Nugs.net, but this release marks its first appearance on a widely-available pressed disc.  The packaging is lavish, with a wraparound dual OBI and a 40-page booklet containing liner notes in Japanese, a Born to Run tour itinerary, and lyrics in both Japanese and English.  (The booklet even includes the digital single artwork for outtake “Lonely Night in the Park” with a QR code, but, alas, does not include it on disc.)  A foldout poster is also included, and the three CDs are housed in individual, tip-on style paper sleeves within the 7-inch jacket. (CDJapan)

Another 7-inch hybrid stereo SACD release from Japan celebrates 55 years of Simon and Garfunkel’s Grammy-winning, chart-topping final studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water.  The set boasts a new DSD remaster of the original 1970 album (previously issued on SACD in a different mastering by Mobile Fidelity in 2024) as well as two previously released bonus tracks on the CD layer only (demos of “Feuilles-O” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” both first released on Legacy’s 2001 expanded edition).  Unfortunately, the original quadraphonic mix remains absent and long out-of-print, likely at the behest of the artists.  Still, the package is an attractive one, with an OBI strip, booklet, and prints replicating original Japanese single/EP artwork. (CDJapan) Fans of Mr. Garfunkel should also check out Advent, a new Christmas-themed album from his son Art Garfunkel Jr.; Advent includes three duets with Art Sr.: “Auld Lang Syne,” “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” and “The First Noel.”  Though physical editions have only been released in Germany, it’s streaming here on Apple Music and Amazon Music, among others.  (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)